


Cathartic

by PhilosophicalRune



Category: Sanders Sides, Sanders Sides (Video Blogging RPF) - Fandom, Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, No Smut, Platonic Relationships, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 16:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13955403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhilosophicalRune/pseuds/PhilosophicalRune
Summary: Despite the fact that he knows that he is now an accepted member of the famILY, Virgil can't help but entertain the worst case scenarios in his anxiety driven brain.Fortunately, he has the other sides to remind him of his worth





	Cathartic

“Seriously, Virgil?”

Virgil peeped over his knees that were pressed tightly up against his chest. On the sofa next to him he saw Roman, who was looking at him in sheer disbelief. A thin silence pervaded the entire commons.

“‘Seriously’ what, Roman?” Virgil snapped, “Don’t act so shocked when I say you guys don’t like me, because you don’t! It would be so easy for all of you to go back to hating me!” he gestured to all of the other sides; Logan leaning against the fridge, his arms folded, and Patton curled up defensively in his recliner, his eyes full of tears.

“The easiest thing in the world! I’m such a hindrance to you. _All_ of you. I get in the way…get in the way of…everything.” he whimpered, dropping his gaze.

He wiped his nose on his sleeve, the corners of his vision blurring and pulsating with hot tears. Gripped by an intense paroxysm of scarcely contained sobs, he buried his head in his arms, hoping his hidden face would assuage the burning feeling of shame and embarrassment he felt at crying in front of the others.

It didn’t.

There was a muffled rustling, and Virgil could sense someone coming to kneel beside him. Peeking through the gap between his arm and his chest, he could see the bright blue of Patton’s shirt.

“Oh, kiddo…” the moral side whispered, for once at a lost for kind words to say, “I’m so sorry we’ve let you think that…Could you look at me?”

Virgil could never disobey an order from Patton. He looked up, his eyes swollen with tears, his cheeks glistening with fresh tear tracks. Patton was looking up at him with his gentlest smile, the kind that could always calm the anxious side down.

Patton gently brushed his hair out of his eyes, his hand coming to rest on Virgil’s damp cheek. “I guess it was easy for you to think like that, buddy, because…well, we were all just words, you know? It’s one thing to say we like you, but it’s a whole ‘nother thing to actually show you how much we care. But I promise you, kiddo, that we’ll make sure you’ll never doubt how much we really care about you again.”

Virgil sniffled, and found himself pressing his face into Patton’s hand. He closed his eyes, quaking with muffled sobs.

“…I must say that I am the biggest villain in this scenario, Virgil,” Roman whispered.

Virgil lifted his head, and looked over to see Roman sitting with his head bowed, his elbows on his knees. His shoulders were slumped, his posture dejected. None of them had ever seen him seem so demoralized.

“I hurt you more than any of the others. And I understand if you’ll never really forgive me,” Roman said, looking up to lock eyes with Virgil; his eyes were looking suspiciously red, “I was awful to you…I treated you like a villain when the only reason I had to back up my actions was Thomas’s word. I should have listened to my heart instead.”

Roman reached over and placed his strong hand on Virgil’s arm. He gave a small, reassuring squeeze. “I was foolish. And I will try my absolute best to never hurt you again.”

Virgil couldn’t help but shoot a grin at Roman and utter a watery chuckle of gratitude.

“Virgil…”

All three sides looked up to find Logan standing over them, his hands sunk deep into his pockets in a completely uncharacteristic gesture of discomfort.

“I have difficulty with emotions. Contrary to what everyone tends to believe, I do have them. I’ve just…trained myself to hide them so that I might maintain a clear focus on what is important.

“That mindset has been detrimental in this case in that…your feelings are what’s important to me now. I was blind to see the importance on this issue because I’ve always strayed far away from dealing with emotions. But this cannot stand in this scenario. I cannot deny that I, and we, have made you feel unwelcome here in the past. And while it is sometimes difficult to see, for you put up a very durable facade, I understand now that our ostracizing actions have made you feel…bad.”

He seated himself on the coffee table, his hands fiddling with one another in his lap. After a momentary pause, he gave an uncomfortable cough, and reached out to grip Virgil’s other arm.

“I think I speak for myself and for the others when I say that we will certainly strive to show you that we do indeed care about you. Very much.”

Virgil looked around into each face; each one of them had the same caring gleam in their eyes. In that moment, the outside facades they showed the world had completely melted away as they allowed for their genuine feelings to shine through. Feeling something deep inside his chest finally uncoil, Virgil felt more tears form in his eyes; only this time, the tears were cathartic.

And suddenly, crying in front of his family had never made Virgil feel so loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! This is the very first drabble I wrote for the Sanders Sides fandom, and it was originally supposed to be the response to a prompt I got on Tumblr (hit me up @theonlyjelly-iwllput-inmybelly), and I can't remember if I posted it anywhere or not, so here it is! The only editing I did to it was to change Virgil's name from Anxiety to Virgil, as I wrote it pre name reveal. I hope you like it; look forward to a longer fic later this week! Gods bless you all, and leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed it!


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